Dallas Mavericks (+180)…
Is there a reason the odds are expressed that way? $225 to win $100 equates to $100 to win $44.44. So why not just list the Celtics as (+44)?
(I think I did the math right.)
The convention is to always map it to $100, and the pos / neg lets you know the favorite.
You bet $100 to win $180.
I understand that it’s a convention, I was wondering if there’s a reason it became the convention. Seems rather confusing to me, and I do math for fun. I wonder how many potential customers gambling sites have lost because they didn’t understand the numbers they were looking at.
I actually prefer the ‘British’ odds. In the above examples (Celtics -225 and Mavericks +180), the British, or fractional, odds become Celtics 4/9 and Mavericks 9/5.
Which means that if you bet on the Celtics, you will win 4 dollars for every 9 dollars you bet. And if you bet on the Mavericks, you will win 9 dollars for every 5 dollars you bet. Much easier to calculate the payoffs.
Thank you again to @Railer13 for setting me straight on how those odds work. I created a shortened URL to an odds calculator that he recommended, using the term oddsCalc. I like using
the is.gd shortener ➜ https://is.gd, so
here is the shortened URL ➜ https://is.gd/oddsCalc, and anyway for me it makes it easy to remember. That redirects
to this page ➜ https://www.actionnetwork.com/betting-calculators/betting-odds-calculator. I’m still wrapping my head around how “American odds” work.
But mostly I came here to complain about how long of a wait it is before the finals start. An entire week. That’s a long time. Maybe I’m suffering from NBA withdrawal symptoms.
Yeah, it’s interesting in that in the earlier rounds, a new series will start as soon as both teams have been determined (with 2 or 3 days of rest, of course). But IIRC the date of the start of the Finals is predetermined, and nothing will change that date. We had a 4-game series in the Eastern final and a 5-game series in the Western final, so the Finals could have started last Saturday or Sunday.
I’m okay with the delay this time. The Celtics will be back to full strength (the big guy’s calf strain is good to go (Kristaps)). Doncic for Dallas should have his knee and ankle in better shape.
Celtics waltzed through the East with the opponents missing key players. Al Horford capably stepped in for Kristaps showcasing Boston’s depth.
Speaking of whom, he turns 38 today. He is the 7th oldest current NBA player. I had forgotten that he was a key member of the Florida Gators teams that won back-to-back NCAA championships in 2006-2007.
I just realized an obscure bit of trivia with the finals of the NBA and NHL. Both representatives of the western conference this year were seeded #5, the Dallas Mavericks and the Edmonton Oilers. With such a low seed, #5, this may possibly have not happened before. A guess.
The Mavericks face the #1 seed Boston Celtics. Game 1 is tonight.
The Oilers face the #2 seed Florida Panthers. Game 1 is Saturday.
Considering this is only the second time that a #5 seed has made the NBA finals, you are probably correct. That was in 2020, when the #5 Miami Heat lost to the Lakers.
5th Seeded Teams That Made the NBA Finals (landofbasketball.com)
I couldn’t find a similar stat for the NHL. I Googled for at least 90 seconds.
Thanks for trying.
I guess Porziņģis is feeling better.
Really. He was a beast tonight.
A solid win for the Cs. Not a dominant game like last time, but solid defensive performance especially late.
The NHL doesn’t really seed conference playoff teams 1-8 these days; it’s the top 3 from each division and two wild cards, with the the first two rounds being intradivisional (aside from the wild cards). Edmonton did have the 5th best record in the West this year, but they didn’t face the 4th best Avalanche in the first round.
It turns out that at the end of the 2020 regular season, Dallas was 5th in points in the West. Oddly enough, they did advance to the Stanley Cup Final!
However, since Covid ended the regular season prematurely, teams were ranked by regular season points per game, instead of raw points. Consequently, Dallas’s 82 points in 69 games was nicer better than Edmonton’s 83 in 71, so Edmonton was ranked 5th and Dallas 4th.
But wait! The actual playoff seeds were determined by a qualifying round among the teams ranked 5-12 (5 vs 12, 6, vs 11, etc, best of 5) and a round-robin among the top 4 teams. The results of the round robin were used to seed teams 1-4, with the winners of the qualifying round getting seeds 5-8 based on their regular season PPG. 5th ranked Edmonton and 6th ranked Nashville both lost their qualifying round, so 7th ranked Vancouver were the actual 5th seed in the West. Dallas ended up as the 3rd seed.
Apologies if I messed something up; I blame allergies.
Allergies suck. I’ve suffered for years. I’ve been taking injections for years. I hope you get some quick relief.
Okay, this helps. Being so casual a fan, I artificially compiled ‘seedings’ from the final standings, and maybe that’s where I went wrong. For example my notes look like this:
**Second Round **
NYR-E1M1 DAL-W1C1
FLA-E2A1 VAN-W3P1
CAR-E3M2 COL-W4C3
BOS-E4A2 EDM-W5P2
Interpretation is probably not necessary, but here:
FLA-E2A1 = the Panthers were 2nd in the Eastern Conference overall, and they finished 1st in the Atlantic Division
EDM-W5P2 = the Oilers were 5th in the Western Conference overall, and they finished 2nd in the Pacific Division
So while that all might be technically accurate, in that that’s where they finished, the teams are not really seeded?
Porzingis tweaked his leg but is expected to play in game 3.
The ease with which the Celtics are handling Dallas makes me even more pissed off at MN’s poor showing.
I feel like they would have done a lot better.